another Ontario Holiday

We stopped at Ikea to do a bit of baby shopping on our way out. This was supposed to be a short 4 day trip, so I managed to pack light and we went a little crazy shopping.

We had some really great weather and free time, so Michael polished the wheels and I worked on some knitting. It was beautiful.

Here's a little belly shot for you all. This was at 32 weeks.

Our trip turned out to be a lot longer. Our load got cancelled, we got rerouted, then we got rerouted again, etc. In the end we were gone for 14 days and spent a week hanging out in Ontario. So, we played a cool word game with Michael's cousin, Aunt & Uncle. I can't remember the name of it.

Also, since this trip turned into 14 days instead of 4, we were cutting it really close to my 'no longer able to travel to the US date', so on the way home we had to make a very important stop.

This was the crazy walk way from the truck stop to the parking lot. Let's just say it was a little bit long for me to walk when I really had to use the loo!

hanging out with Cate & Kasey

Headed out to Austin for the day to see the play Mom was in. Also spent some time with Cate.

She helped me stuff the little teddy I'm hand sewing (from a kit that I got as a gift), defintely grateful for her tiny fingers to help!

Mom in the play (it's too bad it was so hard to take photos...)

Right back where we were

Today was a crazy day.

It started with checking in with dispatch to see if they finally had a load for use to go out trucking again, they didn't. So, we got our paint clothes back on and started painting the last section in our main living space. While we painted we talk about the fact that it was date night and what we should do. The Lady Antebellum concert was that evening. We thought it'd be fun to go since I had chosen their latest album as our baby CD. (When we were on our honeymoon we bought a Rascal Flatts CD since we were frustrated with the poor radio reception in our rental car, we played it to death, but I still get all warm and fuzzy everytime I hear songs from that CD).

I went online to see if I could still get tickets, sure enough I could and they weren't even crazy over priced, so I booked them. Proud of myself for how spontaneous I was being and that we were going to have such a great date night.

About two hours later, everything changed. Michael got a call from his cousin's wife. Barry has been sick for a couple of years and when we were there a couple of weeks ago, we realized just how seriously ill he really was. That phone call was to let Michael know that he should come to ON, Barry was asking for him to be there. Barry is close to Michael in a big brother kind of way. So, I went to Westjet's website and found Michael a ticket for 6pm that same day, booked it and then we set about getting ready for Michael to fly to Ontario. We finished the first coat of paint on the section we had been working on, considered who I could invite to the concert in Michael's place, realized that I'd have problems getting into the concert because the tickets were booked on his credit card, call Ticketmaster to find out if there was a way around this, which there was, but they were also gracious enough to let me cancel the tickets, and tried to get laundry done so Michael could pack for the trip.

Looking back I had to have a little laugh at myself for being so proud of the spontaneity of booking concert tickets the day of the show, and then having to be even more flexible to change all those plans and get Michael to ON.

Anyway, Michael was able to be with Barry, and to be a support to Barry's wife and three kids, which was fantastic, and be there when Barry passed away.

Here's a collage of pictures from his (and later my time out there).

Aylmer

After spending a few days in TO, I went to Aylmer to hang out until Michael came to pick me up. He dropped me off on one trip and went all the way back to Winnipeg and picked me up on his next rounder.

Again, I'm lousy with using my camera.

I dragged Grandma to a yarn shop in St Thomas called the Little Red Mitten. It was amazing. I bought some really cool yarn with possum in it. Wonderfully soft green sock yarn!

Aunt Betty and Grandma and I also spent a day hanging out, including a walk in the park.

Grandma & Grandpa.

More family shots.

TO

One of the perks of trucking is getting to travel for free. I was able to see my cousin Anna who was in Toronto (she lives in Switzerland) while she was there, along with my other cousin and my Aunt & Uncle.

Of course my picture taking was limited, but here's the few that I took.

Supper at Fresh. Awesome.

Manicures. Fun!

Coldstones for dessert (to undo any good we did our bodies by eating at Fresh).

Little Schultzie is on the way!

Here's a pic of me the day before we discovered I was pregnant:

I was so excited to tell my family, but we held onto our news for another 6 & 10 weeks, so we could have some fun making the announcement in our family's Christmas presents.

I made these:

Here's what's on them:

This year each member of our immediate family got a little present from us. Inside was one of these little bibs with the appropriate title for that family member. Michael's Dad got a special one.

  

It took Michael's family a while to catch on, since my sister in law was due to have her baby the week after we celebrated Christmas with them. But as you can see, when the lights went on they were excited.

In BC, we repeated this same procedure, though I don't have any pictures of it. The great grand parents got little onsies.

So much fun! We're looking forward to meeting 'little Schultzie' this summer!

BC Christmas

Friesen Gathering

Christmas with my siblings

The Loewen Gathering

Welcome to Kasey John Enns!

Schultz Christmas

Birthday Celebration

Michael's Mom turned 50 this September so we celebrated with bowling as a family and then going to a dinner theatre show (corner gas).


Bowling was a blast.


At the show.

Mom gets to dance on stage!

peaches, lots and lots of peaches.

I drove out to Austin for the day to hang out with my mother and sister in law. We spent the day processing peaches. Jam, pies and canned.

Cate helped with peeling blanched peaches.

We used every available bowl and pot.

Doesn't it look delicious?

Sister Time

I got to spend a day making cards with Angela. It was great, although I'm a little jealous of her digital scrapbooking, it looks so easy and there's way less stuff to haul around.

I had a great day and made a pile of cards!